Wind Ensemble Concert Set for May 3

The Fairmont State Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Valarie Huffman and assisted by Matthew Schoonmaker, will premiere a new work by former FS music professor Dr. Stephen Johnson.

The concert is slated for Wednesday, May 3, at 8 p.m. in the Turley Center Ballroom. Admission is free and open to the public.

The work, a set of symphonic poems based on Edgar Allan Poe's "Hop-Frog," will contain both traditional and contemporary compositional elements for the members of the ensemble. This is Johnson's first composition for wind ensemble and the second work of the ensemble's commissioning series. The first of the series was John Schooley's "Concertino for Winds and Percussion" that was premiered last year by the ensemble. Johnson is currently serving as Professor of Music Theory and History at the College of Southern Maryland in LaPlata. Johnson served as an Associate Professor of Music at Fairmont State for four years, teaching music history and appreciation and conducting the Stage Band.

Also during the concert, the ensemble will perform works to be played during the spring tour in late April. The tour will take the group to the eastern panhandle where they will perform for ensembles in Hardy County and Hedgesville. Works to be performed include "American Verses" by Timothy Broege, Fugue on "Yankee Doodle" by John Philip Sousa, "Amparito Roca" by Jaime Texidor and P.D.Q. Bach's (a.k.a. Peter Schickele) "Grand Serenade for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion."